“Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards.” ~ Bobby Jones (Champion Golfer)

We all know that trying the hit the golf ball too hard has its consequences. The most obvious one is that you finish out of balance at the end of your golf stroke. For many golfers the reason they get out of balance at the end of their stroke is because they weren’t in balance to begin with.

BODY IN BALANCEIn the address position you get your body ready to swing the golf club backwards and forwards with controlled force. In the following photo of PGA tour golfer David Tom’s I have outlined his upper and lower body with a box to show you how his stance is slightly wider than his upper torso in the address position. He is using a five iron in the shot so his backswing will be full, which means he needs to ensure that his lower body can support a full rotation of his upper body.

Also notice that I have drawn in a green triangle that extends from the insides of his golf shoes to the center of his shoulders. This will show you how he is able to maintain the center of his shoulders over the insides of his shoes for fully seventy percent of his swing.

WOUND UP ON TOPIn this photo David has wound his upper torso behind the point of the triangle whilst maintaining his right leg against the side of the triangle. Notice how his hips are still relatively centered to the lower box and his upper torso is now more in the left side of the box? (as you look at it)

BALANCED IMPACTCompare this photo to the address photo and notice how the upper torso is centered in the top box over the top of the triangle and the lower torso has advanced to the right side of the box? (as you see it) This suggests that David Tom’s has managed to maintain his upper torso relationship to the golf ball which makes sense if you think about it?

Moving your upper body too much to the right or left must make it more difficult to strike a golf ball more consistently? Some golfers move their lower bodies more than others and a simple rule of thumb is if doesn’t affect your balance it’s ok.

BALANCED FINISHAt the end of the stroke the upper torso has rotated completely through so that the weight of the upper body is pushing downwards through the left leg and into the ground. The right shoulder has rotated around the left shoe and the upper body would be facing left of the intended target.

Your first consideration is building and improving your golf swing on top of a stable platform. By making sure that your upper body never moves far from the top of the triangle-at least until after the golf ball is well on its way will guarantee that you increase the potential in your golf swing to produce more power and accuracy.